What is the Best Way to Support Veterans?

Since the abolishment of the draft, volunteers have manned the military. By professional armed services standards, this conversion has produced the most efficient and competitive war machine ever. However, what escapes this simplistic viewpoint is that the forces deployed “To Kill People and Break Things”, are used to expand and perpetuate an empire, while forgoing an actual defense of our nation. Decisions to police the world are made by non elected agencies, who essentially formulate the detailed policies that shed the blood of soldiers and drain the treasure of the country. Presidents and politicians talk about the hard determinations to place service personnel in harm’s way, but it is the military-industrial-complex that does the grunt work in staging the logistics and directing what theater of operations the grand imperial military can operate.

The CIA, State Department and the Department of Defense run the show. The commander and chief W. Bush called himself  ‘The Decider’, while Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld supplied the options that they wanted for junior. Barack Hussein Obama proved to be the best customer for drone manufactures General Atomics, Northrop Grumman, Textron and Boeing, as he accelerated the drone war by ten times more strikes than Bush. Some may see this strategy as a way to reduce injuries of the ground troops. But such a restrained and costly tactic avoids the real purpose of a defense force.

Foreign expedition intrusions never seem to provide true national security. Donald Trump has forgotten his campaign platform with the inclusion of NeoCon careerists into his administration. With all the lip services from both sides of the aisle about honoring the sacred remains of our respected dead, the failure to ever address why a “grateful nation” cannot reinvent the underlying purpose of all these unwinnable conflicts, goes unnoticed.

Not much has changed since the butchery of World War II produced the belligerent culture of The Dubious U.S. State Department.

“In the WW II movie Anzio, Robert Mitchum played a pacifist war correspondent in search of some philosophical reasoning for why men wage war. His conclusion at the end of one of the bloodiest battles in the European theater was simple, pure and alarming. They like it! Who can argue with the historic record? If you don’t relish the perverse repetition of duly sanctioned and organized carnage, why continue to engage in the practice? Before the allegiant apologists assault the argument, it is incumbent upon them to prove that circumstances are necessary to send their sons (and now daughters) off for sacrifice! If a just war is feasible in an age of impersonal and strategic GPS weapons, it has yet to be confirmed that it is essential to maintain our freedom.”

Human nature has not changed. State sponsored killing has been the staple of all empires, especially in their last stages. If jingoistic supporters truly champion their esteemed veterans, they would demand that war should not be a causal pursuit, but only a last resort when the nation is attacked by a bellicose enemy and after Congress declares war.

In an environment of acquiesce, the President bypasses the constitution whenever the fabrication of false flags exonerate the need to formally declare war. The biggest scam in foreign policy is that terrorism is an existential threat; while in reality, the intrusion and systemic invention of foes are created to maintain a permanent warfare, designed to never end hostilities.

Our veterans deserve better. Yet what you hear from the indoctrinated warriors is that dying for your government is a noble sacrifice. Missing is the empirical fact that the government is the ultimate crime syndicate, who long ago betrayed the nation and all her citizens.

The conclusion in the essay, What Memorial Day Do You Honor?; provides food for thought on every Memorial Day.

“The call to service needs to be in the defense of what is meant in the Idea of America. The country that we all now live in, so often has lost sight of that truth. We have much to celebrate, but an American empire is not one. The sacrifices made deserve respect, but not consent. The flag that waves deserves thirteen stars. The one that now flies, needs to be turned upside down.”

Memorial Day should be an educational experience, not just a celebration of war stories. Progress on restoring a rational foreign policy and a sane military should be judged by scaling down the veteran administration, not on dispensing quality services, but because the overseas adventures will be curtailed. Withdrawing from the garrison encirclement of the globe is essential and beneficial to establish a bona fide national security defense of the homeland.

The conventional attitude disputes this appraisal. So how many more of these unsustainable invasions will it take for the public to deal with the false assumption that shock and awe from the skies will wipe out an ISIS combatant that has been supplied and protected by globalist traitors within the U.S. Deep State?

As long as quislings like Senator John McCain preach their betrayal and treat troops as cannon fodder, veterans will be used as expendable. The power and influence of the war machine establishment has defeated the traditional non-interventionism heritage that George Washington spoke so eloquently in his farewell address.

Where is the righteous outrage? Stop the madness and listen to the sage counsel of the father of our country, George Washington. His farewell address speaks to all ages and people.

“Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake, since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government. But that jealousy to be useful must be impartial; else it becomes the instrument of the very influence to be avoided, instead of a defense against it. Excessive partiality for one foreign nation and excessive dislike of another cause those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side, and serve to veil and even second the arts of influence on the other. Real patriots who may resist the intrigues of the favorite are liable to become suspected and odious, while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the people, to surrender their interests.

The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible“.

For those who reject such wisdom with tortured arguments that American Imperium is necessary, do not serve the veteran community well. Americans who approve of NATO’S expansion, a greater Israel Middle East and a Saudi Sunni Arab coalition, guarantee that present and future generations of soldiers-at-arms will be lost to the meat grinder. Disposable fatalities in flag draped casket  sent to Dover Delaware., will continue. Where is the outrage for the sending of our people into a slaughter that has intentionally no resolution as a final outcome?  If the celebration of Memorial Day has morphed into ignoring past wars and substituting the latest clash of civilizations, the memory of the true meaning and the price paid by our founding patriots will be lost.

When a raw recruit enters the home field of their drill sergeant, the heritage of duty and service is imparted during the training routine. Molding youth into the sharp end of the spear allows for the continued revolving door of fresh enlistees to feed the brigades for the next hot spot.

It is difficult to ignore this persistent pattern of instruction that produces eager soldiers. Those within the higher ranks of authority earn their career advancement by sending regiments of troops abroad to keep the increases in the pentagon budget justified.

Every budget falls short of the requested capacity desired to keep the world free; whatever that definition means, to the propagandists for the New World Order. Who do veterans fight for? America or the NWO? It cannot be both, since the globalist agenda is diametrically opposed to the Bill of Right protections of a Republic based upon sovereign states.

One does not have to assail the military when disparaging the underlying foreign policies that abuse and place veterans at risk for no valid reason. Alone this distinction should be enough to separate respective individual military persons from the disconnected decisions that place them as targets with no definitive purpose behind their service. Nonetheless, Memorial Day celebrations can rightly snub the conflict, while relating to the courageous bravery often exhibited in combat.

Those within our advocacy circle will condemn the political and banking elites that maintain the warfare state. If Memorial Day is to eventually achieve universal veneration, stopping future contrived conflicts is necessary. Instead of placing flags on the graves of the fallen, commit to a political doctrine that is willing to defeat the war party, which causes the fake crusades to be fought. Defense means protecting the home soil, not the corporatist interests of transnational monopolists.

3 Disturbing Facts Every American Needs to Consider this Memorial Day — This is How to Thank a Vet

If you have served in any branch of the military, Memorial Day has symbolic and emotional meaning others can only relate to empathetically, but might never fully grasp. Today, we honor those who fought for the United States, dedicating a portion of their lives in defense of what we, as a nation, hold dear — often returning scarred and battered inside and out.

A mythos exists about the armed services — indoctrinated veneration of men and women in uniform, and a call to duty — where, by design, the people of this land aren’t taught to question war or the military, or the consequences reverberating into the past and future.

However, as a growing number of veterans will tell you in moments of bare honesty, taking up arms and donning a uniform isn’t exactly about fighting for freedom — and the wounds sustained in battle physically and mentally haunt many former service members for reasons that have little to do with glory and honor.

Our military, as many have discovered, entices young people not even old enough to buy a beer to risk their lives — and the Pentagon and recruiters propagandize service as a patriotic, educational adventure and opportunity to work with state of the art technology and equipment. But what they don’t explain are the horrors of the battlefield — and the truth about our government’s motives for war.

So, this Memorial Day, it’s imperative to examine military service for what it truly entails — what the government actually asks of service members — and why the last thing we should do is ask more youth to join up.

Inveigling young Americans to join the military by touting free college and patriotism is perhaps the most dishonest hoodwinks the government could make. Indeed, service members do fight in the name of the United States, but wars abroad in modern times are far more complex than just good fighting evil — and much of that surrounds our many proxy wars.

While the Pentagon claims the U.S. fights terrorists, particularly of the Islamic State, in Syria and many other Middle Eastern countries — and to a degree, that’s true — other terrorist groups are now considered our allies. In fact, certain offshoots of al-Qaeda — the exact radicals targeted by the U.S. in the years following 9/11 — receive funding and training from different agencies of our government.

This trick of logic benefits only the notorious goal of regime change — ousting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad — while infuriating embattled local populations and the governments of other nations who don’t distinguish between the nefarious groups. To civilians victimized by military battles and belligerent radicals alike, a terrorist is a terrorist — no distinctions necessary.

Veterans who’ve experienced this duplicity firsthand agree with that assessment and many are furious with the government essentially employing terrorists to fight terrorists under the overarching mission to oust another nation’s leader. Discovering you’ve agreed to fight for reasons you not fully explained from the start — and should consider terrorists allies — has embittered countless veterans who honestly believed the military defends Americans’ freedoms.

Once you’ve fought for the government, it cares very little about your wellbeing.

Scores of fighters return to the United States in desperate need of expert healthcare to heal and rehabilitate minor to wholly incapacitating physical injuries — and mental and emotional trauma endured in witnessing the horrors of bloodshed. But the Veterans Administration tasked with that job falls criminally short on nearly every level.

Over two years ago, the Department of Veterans Affairs had amassed a backlog of 900,000 applications for healthcare, but far worse — and deeply revealing of a systemic issue — at least 300,000 of those applicants died while waiting to receive the benefits which should have been immediate.

Post-traumatic stress disorder affects tens of thousands of veterans, leading many to take their own lives not to be haunted by horrific and agonizing images making daily life a continuance of war. Those considering suicide have the option of reaching out to the Veterans Crisis Line — but actually speaking with a trained counselor is a task in itself.

A report earlier this year revealed the Crisis Line is rife with inexcusable problems, leaving desperate callers on hold for over 20 minutes wasn’t rare — and some calls were even diverted to voicemail, which staff did not even know existed. An investigation was initiated after an Iraq War veteran got voicemail instead of help, and proceeded to take his life.

Disrespect for former service men and women doesn’t end even once they pass away — in September, a whistleblower revealed the bodies of veterans in one VA hospital morgue had been allowed to languish for a month, and had badly decomposed.

Issues continue to plague the VA to this day.

If you think the U.S. enters countless military conflicts to protect the security of the American public, you would be astonishingly incorrect.

In addition to the aforementioned conflict over regime change — which is a favored tactic of our government — most wars are battles to further establish U.S. hegemony and exploit the targeted nation’s natural resources. Oil is perhaps the most well-known motivation for war, but probably isn’t the most valuable.

Afghanistan, as seasoned U.S. veterans can attest, has the world’s largest opium poppy crop — courtesy of the American intervention.

In May 2001, a report by the New York Times said U.S. narcotics experts visited Afghanistan and discovered that Taliban rule “appears to have wiped out the world’s largest crop in less than a year.”

On October 7 that year, the U.S. conveniently invaded the country in the name of fighting terrorism, and shortly afterward opium poppy cultivation took off — increasing 35-fold from 185 tons in 2001 to 6,400 tons in 2014 — a veritable boon for Big Pharma.

And while pharmaceutical manufacturers enjoy skyrocketing profits from pushing opioid medications, the United States is now in the midst of a heroin epidemic. Veterans also suffer, as the VA doles out countless opioids rather than instituting reforms to actually care for those who served.

In addition to opium poppies, the U.S. discovered around $1 trillion in mineral resources in Afghanistan, as the New York Times reported in 2010:

“The previously unknown deposits — including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium — are so big and include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world, the United States officials believe.

“An internal Pentagon memo, for example, states that Afghanistan could become the ‘Saudi Arabia of lithium,’ a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and BlackBerrys.”

Afghanistan is, of course, only one of the countries the U.S. continues to exploit.

Countless additional arguments could be proffered to why we must inform young people about the true nature of military conflict — and many returning soldiers have made it their mission to stop people from signing up and bring an end to wars fought for less than noble reasons.

Veterans for Peace accepts former military members from around the globe, and as the group’s mission states, seeks to “increase public awareness of the costs of war, restrain our government from intervening, overtly and covertly, in the internal affairs of other nations, end the arms race and to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons, seek justice for veterans and victims of war, and abolish war as an instrument of national policy.”

Honoring veterans with a day certainly provides a symbolic recognition of service — but it rings hollow for too many who served for what they believed was duty, only to discover the truth of war.

Instead, we must stop creating veterans — stop destroying the lives of people who join the military and those of millions of civilians victims in foreign lands — all in the name of U.S. imperialism.

It is our imperative to expose these insidious truths and inform those considering signing up to serve that patriotic duty is only an illusion to ensnare the uninformed into fighting, killing, and even dying for corporate profit, exploitation, and hegemony.

Ask the profiteers and politicians to send their own kids to fight — and we’d see how quickly peace would prevail.

Reflections Of An Army Widow

It’s often said that “freedom isn’t free,” and for the families of military personnel killed during service, that’s especially true.

Ten years ago this month, U.S. Army Major Larry Bauguess was killed during a peace-keeping mission in Pakistan in a tragedy that made national headlines. He left behind a grieving wife, Wesley Bauguess, and two daughters, ages six and four, who wouldn’t grow up with their daddy.

Wesley Bauguess is this week’s guest on a special Memorial Day edition of Off The Grid Radio, as she shares with us how she found purpose and hope after her husband’s death. She recently released a book, “God, Country, Golf: Reflections of an Army Widow” (Westbow Press).

Wesley tells us:

• What she hopes Americans and military personnel will learn about grieving and recovery from hearing her story.


• Why she chose to revisit the tragedy, first by writing a book and then by doing interviews.


• What people should (and shouldn’t) say to someone who is grieving.


• What helped her recover from her husband’s death.

Finally, Wesley gives us tips for how military families who have loved ones overseas can better handle being separated.

We were inspired by her story … and we think you will be, too.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:05 — 29.4MB)